The WA Government has announced three new marine parks, covering thousands of kilometers of the Kimberley coast in Western Australia’s far north.
Key Points:
- Marine parks will occupy more than 600,000 hectares of the Buccaneer Archipelago
- The parks have been jointly designed by the traditional owners of the area
- The state government wants to create 5 million hectares of new conservation estates in total
Officially unveiled this morning, the Bardi Jawi Garra, Mayala and Maiyalam Marine Parks cover more than 600,000 hectares of the Buccaneer Archipelago.
For the first time in Western Australia, the parks have been co-designed and will be jointly managed by the Bardi Jawi, Mayala and Dambeemangarddee traditional owners of the area.
The new parks cover the waters surrounding the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome, the land and coast north of Derby and the thousands of islands that make up the Buccaneer Archipelago.
This island in Yaloon (Cone Bay) is part of the newly created Maiyalam Marine Park. (Provided by: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions)
Through mergers with existing parks, the new reserve includes high-profile Kimberley locations such as Horizontal Falls and Yaloon on the shores of Cone Bay.
Speaking at this morning’s announcement in Broome, Bardi Jawi Traditional Owner Kevin George said the formal recognition was an important step forward.
“We have a duty of care to the environment and a duty of care to our people,” he said.
“It’s very important for our people to be part of the design of all of this … and we’re pretty happy with the process.”
Dambimangari Corporation director Leah Umbagi said the park was an important recognition of her people’s connection to the sea.
Rowena Mouda, Kevin George and Leah Umbagi at the Sunday morning signing. (ABC Kimberley)
“Doing this in collaboration with the other groups … I think presenting ourselves as a group as saltwater people is very important. [step] forward,” he said.
Mayala Inninalang Aboriginal Corporation president Rowena Mouda said the cultural health of the coast was imperative to the health of traditional owners.
“Cultural belonging, cultural maintenance and preservation are so important. If we lose sight of that, then we’ve lost sight of our identity of who we are,” he said.
“With this process, there have been families who have returned to the country for the first time.
“There have been families who have returned after many years and have been able to set foot in that country, and we have seen how it heals with people who have not returned to the country since they were there as children.
“There’s a healing in yourself, your body, your spirit, your mind that comes into play, and it’s hard to explain when you don’t have that belonging.”
The traditional owners of Dambeemangarddee hold a smoking ceremony at Yaloon Bay. (Provided by: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions)
Troubled Birth of Parks
While the mood at today’s announcement was celebratory, the marine parks planning process had been divisive.
Draft plans to ban and restrict recreational fishing in about 40 percent of the park received a tense reaction from local and state fishing groups, which argued they had been left out of the consultation process.
The government went back to the drawing board to consider their concerns, which resulted in concessions that included access to Dam Creek, the cemetery, Kimbolton Creek, Strickland Bay and reef areas near the Cone Bay Barramundi Farm.
Broome Angling Club members were briefed on the proposed marine park for the Buccaneer Archipelago. (ABC Kimberley: Erin Parke)
Recfishwest chief executive Andrew Rowland says the government needed to learn lessons from the process.
“We were really disappointed with the original draft plan. The government essentially ran the process and fishermen were excluded from commenting,” Dr Rowland said.
“We are pleased that the fishermen have sat down with the traditional owners following the draft plans, and now, as of today, we have seen a much better outcome for the fishery.”
But conservation group Environs Kimberley dismissed concerns from the recreational fishing lobby about access restrictions.
“We have a very balanced marine park,” said Environment Director Martin Prichard.
“More than half is open to recreational fishermen.”
Pritchard said the co-design process involving traditional owners was a “shining light” for the rest of Australia when it came to designing conservation areas with indigenous peoples.
“This is an outstanding win for conservation in the Kimberley and conservation in Australia,” he said.
“The thousand islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago have coral reef systems, seagrass beds, really productive river mouths, very important cultural areas.”
Martin Pritchard says marine parks are a welcome first step in protecting at-risk parts of the Kimberley. (ABC Kimberley: Andrew Seabourne)
Pritchard said the group was now pushing for the State Government to extend the protections to more areas of the Kimberley coast.
“What we’re left with now is an opportunity for the McGowan government to put the entire Kimberley coast into a marine park,” he said.
“What we would have would be the Great Kimberley Marine Park to rival the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.”
One million hectares protected
Environment Minister Reece Whitby said he understood fishing groups’ concerns but said he made no apologies for the government’s commitment to the co-design process.
“All stakeholders are involved, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
“Traditional owners have said they have found time to listen to commercial fishers, recreational fishers and other users of this country.
“It needs to be managed in a way that takes everyone’s interests into account. There will be areas that are earmarked in terms of areas to protect conservation values and Aboriginal heritage values.
Traditional owners sign official marine park declarations at an event on Sunday. (ABC Kimberley)
“But there are also areas that recognize that it is recreation, tourism, commercial business.
“My experience with commercial operators is that they really want this environment to be protected in the long term so that their industry is sustainable – the best way to do that is with the marine park where the conservation estate is recognized and protected.”
As part of the government’s plan, a sector support package will be offered to support commercial, charter and recreational fishermen operating in the park and affected by its limits.
“[The package] will be developed with the community to ensure the continuation of sustainable fishing, high quality fishing experiences and support for local industries,” Fisheries Minister Don Punch said.
Cascade Bay is a popular destination for recreational fishermen in the archipelago. (ABC Kimberley: Ben Collins)
The creation of the parks also marks a key milestone for the McGowan government, with more than 1 million hectares of new conservation estates established since she took office in 2017.
The government has set a target of 5 million hectares in total.
The boundaries of the three marine parks take effect on July 1, 2023.
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